Snowdonia Deluxe Master Set

Snowdonia Deluxe Master Set

Created by NSKN Games

Snowdonia - a lovingly crafted game of strategy, history, and trains - now in an updated and upgraded form of a Deluxe Master Set.

Latest Updates from Our Project:

Another update with the insert and a few clarifications 9 days ago
– Thu, May 16, 2019 at 01:43:54 AM

Ladies & Gentlemen,

After yesterday's update, we need to make a few things clear:

There will be 2 card boxes inside the game box: one to use for all unsleeved cards, or both to use for sleeved cards. We only showed one as we only got one as a sample from the factory and we did not make it clear that there will be two of them

...except the base game cards which will fit into the main part of the insert (as you can see in the images below)

all wooden components fit in the insert perfectly

the box size is justified by the amount of components, as you can again see in the images below

Now, here is how it all fits in the box...

Components in the insert

All parts of the insert

Assembling the box step by step (1) : first layer

Assembling the box step by step (2) : layer 2, part 1

Assembling the box step by step (3) : second part of the second layer

Assembling the box step by step (4): the game board

Assembling the box step by step (5) : rules

Assembling the box step by step (6): scenarios booklet

Assembling the box step by step (7) : player aids

Assembling the box step by step (8) : card box - use a single one for unsleeved cards, or...

... or use two for sleeved cards

Assembling the box step by step (9) : add the score pad and bag

Assembling the box step by step (10) : the lid

Assembling the box step by step (11) : the sleeve, if you prefer a more classic look

Have a great week,

Andrei

The insert in images plus the timeline for delivery 10 days ago
– Tue, May 14, 2019 at 09:15:13 PM

Ladies & Gentlemen,

We have received last week the sample of the final Snowdonia insert plus the card holder, which is a final production copy. Images with the insert on our office gaming table are just below.

But before we get into that, let's talk a little bit about the timeline of delivery.

Yesterday we have got the final confirmation from the factory on the delivery date to us and we put together a plan to get fulfillment going.

We will receive the game from the factory on 10-Jun. This is later that we have expected and that they have promised - and we once again apologize for the delay - but this is simply the best they could do with such a massive production. Reasons behind this delay are: the complexity of the insert, which takes longer than expected to produce and the assembly process which does not take longer than expected, but it was postponed due to manufacturing the insert.

Here is our timeline for delivery:

10 Jun: We receive the game from the factory, on pallets, ready to be shipped

15 Jun: Games clear export customs in China and are loaded in containers

15 Jun: We lock down addresses for final delivery

15-30 Jul: Games are arriving to fulfillment centers (there is an interval here because shipping to US West coast is slightly faster than shipping to Europe)

1-15 Aug: Games are packed and sent out to You

This plan is 100% locked, and confirmed with our logistics contractor, and the only threats are some fringe circumstances like having a physical check in customs (it has happened to us twice in 60+ shipments) or extremely bad weather (has not happened yet). The dates we proposed also contain contingency for these circumstances, accounting for a less than ideal scenario, just not for the absolute worst (for example we expect customs to take 7 days, while the usual is 3 days, while the longest we have ever waited - once - is 15 days).

All in all, we hope that the extra few months of wait will totally be worth and justified by the quality of the final production.

Now, moving on to the (unedited) insert photos: you can see the 3 piece insert (originally planned as two pieces) which now also includes a card tray, which seemed to be the only decent way to store the 700+ cards in Snowdonia.

Just yesterday we went to the factory, had a thorough chat with the people in charge of production and check the quality of ready components.

First, a few photos, then the conclusions. The quality of photos is questionable, as they're taking with not the best phone in a not-so-well-lit room, by someone whose skill set is not photos... but enough with the excuses :)

Box in sleeve

Box and sleeve next to it. The logo is in fact shiny :)

All the cards around the score pad

Cards again

Board front

Board back

The box and cards feel really good and together with the wooden components make for a complete game, which we plan to bring back to Europe and hopefully someone will be able to take a few decent photos :)

Now, to the status of production...

1. Cards, box, board, box sleeves

All of these components are almost ready, mass production still needs a bit more time, but the hardest part of the job is done.

2. Wooden pieces

That's simple, finished, ready for assembly.

3. Insert

This is the tricky part, which is now causing delays. Our investment in GameTrayz insert has backfired to some extent. As the insert is rather complex, and multi part, the molding process was about three times as long as for a regular insert, so the molds are not yet ready (thus the complete lack of photos of the insert).

A realistic estimation of the inserts being ready is first half May, but on the bright side the quality should be outstanding.

Which leave us with the assembly process... Everything that can be prepared ahead is already being done, such as prepackaging the wooden pieces, but besides that everything is on hold waiting for the inserts. This gives us a chance to have another look over the rules, but other than that, we estimate that assembly will only finish in the last days of May.

Until we have a final confirmation from the factory that inserts are done, we won't venture any estimates for fulfillment, but we're doing everything to minimize waiting time once games are in our possession.

Production for Snowdonia is almost done, all the difficult parts are either in production or ready, so... next week we will go to Shanghai to check if everything is OK.

We will go through each game component and see if the print quality is all right, and also provide instructions for assembly.

We will post another update from the factory where we should see a final production copy of the whole game.

Have a great week,

Andrei

A Mountain of Cards! 2 months ago
– Sat, Mar 16, 2019 at 02:47:22 AM

Ladies and Gentlemen!

We are happy to announce that Snowdonia Deluxe Master Set has mostly gone to print now! Before that happened, we had had a few big things to do, one of them being climbing an actual mountain of cards:

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This unruly heap of card decks and ziplock bags includes 699 cards you will find in your Snowdonia Deluxe Master Set boxes (plus blank cards not pictured above). To make the mountain we had all cards printed and cut in order to look through each and every one of them and make sure that everything is up to par.

The eagle-eyed of you have probably already noticed that corners on these cards are not rounded. Fear not - these are very early proofs made only for the purposes of making final corrections to graphic design and texts. The final product will come on real, high quality cards.

That being said, let's take a look at a few of these decks!

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How many train cards will Snowdonia include? That many! All with their own, completely new back. As with other cards, you won't have to flip them to find exactly what you are looking for.

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Here is one of the all new expansions: Malta Railway in all its glory. As you can see, (almost) no new content comes with any changes that would make it stick out. The precision and clarity of graphic design by Klemens Franz is with us all the way!

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We have mentioned new backs on multiple occasions. While track cards are double-sided and require flipping in-game, and while contract cards have always had backs with an in-game function, every other type of card is single-sided. Did we mention how much easier it makes to find the stuff you are looking for?

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The Once and Future Train - probably the only expansion that strays rather far from Snowdonia aesthetics when it comes to art - but still uses the same clear graphic design language to communicate its functionalities.

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Finally, the Wagons Expansion. You have asked us mutliple time about them, and now here they are. No longer tokens - now they are their own card expansion found within Snowdonia Deluxe Master Set.

To wrap this up, we would like to remind you that it is you who made all this possible. Thank you, and have a great day!